Anyone make chai with all milk and no water? A friend of mine suggested this and wow, is it good. I use Adagio's decaf green spice. I heat the milk in the microwave until it bubbles up and then steep for 3 minutes. I also add a bit of sugar.

My husband is Pakistani, so the "chai" is most popular after dinner and in the mornings. My mother in law tought me how to make it so its authentic. She however, makes it from the gorund black tea, Im trying out the black leaves and see hwo it tastes. But I don know for sure 8 minutes wont do it.

Authentic indian tea is quite strong. The milk is added to make it creamy and smooth out the sharp edge. 1st you take Cinnamon,cloves,ginger, and pepper and grind them( you can leave them whole, but they are best ground and fresh). in a small pot you t Boil them with water(3cups) until you can see the water change in color(from the spices). after it boils, add the tea (with the stove off) let it sit for about 10 minutes,(by this time you should have a little over half the water you started out with) then add the milk(evaporated or half and half) and bring to a quick boil. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes, then serve =o) sweeten to taste.

Nothingout there tastes like the real stuff, take it from me. There is no short cut to it. No powder, mix, tea bag or anything that can make it taste right. We are all here cuz we love tea and love to taste the best most authentic flavors right? so Please dont use the regular gallon milk as it brings no justice to the wonderful flavor. Also try not to overpower with too much cinnamon or too much pepper, its not supposed to be "spicy" just perfectly blended.

I know that everyone has different taste buds. Im just telling you how to make it the right way. Since Ive been married Ive tasted alot of different "chai" cuz different women in the family make it. They all taste unique but have everything in common. I was lucky to have an authentic recipe passed down to me and Im more than happy to share!

Enjoy! if you have any questions let me kno!

For those of you who dont know:

Chai means "Tea" in Hindi and Urdu

Pakistani poeple speak Urdu, Inidans speak Hindi

Urdu and Hindi are spoken the same and written differently

Pakistan and India were once one country (thats why the pople dress similarly and eat very similar food)

srry I thought I should give some facts, It's nice to know the origin of the tea =o) and settle some known confusion

Oh and by the way, yo ucan find ground black tea (this is what is used in india and pakistan) at any indian store, use the brooke bonde brand red label. you need anywhere from 2-3 teaspoons for the recipe I gave.

The only chai I've found that I like (so far, I still need to try Adagio's oriental spice tea) is Stash's organic - it's a mix of black and green tea. I think it tastes wonderful with a bit of milk. Plus the milk helps curb any bitterness that occurs when I brew it extra strong.

Tao of Tea's 500 mile chai is fantastic if you prepare it the traditional way of boiling it in water for 5 minutes or so, then adding half and half to taste and bring up to temp. Then you strain it into your cup. Amazing!! leaves your tounge numb... note of caution, I've had spotty sucess, one of the tins I bought was a bit weak, maybe due to age? If it doesn't make your tounge numb try another tin. heh.

For the original chai precept! I've been looking for one for ages but havent been able to find any untill now! =)

Though i make my chai pretty diffrent than you, i have 50/50 water and milk boiled at the same time. I put in maby 4-6 spoons for a big batch of chai maby 2 liters. Then i boil it untill it starts foaming and then i put it down a bit so it shimmers only for 15-20 minutes.

I drank a lot of masala chai when i was in India and i loved the one they have on the trains! Also found some nice masala chai in palolem (south goa =). It was a great amazing taste but nothing i could compare to at home.

But i will try your recipe and hopefully i can manage to do something more like it =) But at the moment i have organic herbs from India and Sri Lanka that i bought from some very good friends at: http://www.fairtradeteas.com/catalog/pr ... de87b5f124and thats a very nice mix. But then again you use fresh stuff that you grind yourself and dont mix the black tea from start. So it will taste diffrent but still worth it =)